LABOUR IN CHAOS
Angela Rayner declares Diane Abbott SHOULD be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate – despite claims she’d been banned
It comes hours after Sir Keir Starmer insisted no decision had been made about the veteran's future
ANGELA Rayner has declared Diane Abbott SHOULD be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate - despite claims she had been banned.
Labour’s deputy leader made a major intervention to say she could not “see any reason” why the veteran left-winger should not represent the party on July 4.
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In an interview with ITV, Ms Rayner, said that was “not happy” about claims Ms Abbott, 70, had been barred from standing, despite the Hackney North MP appearing to confirm them herself yesterday.
Probed on the confusion around Ms Abbott's selection squabble, Rayner told ITV: “I don’t see any reason why Diane Abbott can’t stand as a Labour MP going forward.
"I am saying that as the deputy leader of the Labour Party.”
She added that she was “not happy” about negative briefings against Ms Abbott, adding: “I don’t think that is how we should conduct ourselves.”
And of reports that Ms Abbott had been blocked from standing for Sir Keir Starmer's party, she added: “I don’t think that is how we should conduct ourselves.”
Speaking to Sky News, Ms Rayner doubled down by hailing Abbott as an "inspiration to many people".
She went on: "People from her background and people who look like her have a place in our politics.
"And she's been able to demonstrate that. You can see the difference on our benches.”
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Asked about Sir Keir’s role in the row, she added: “I’m pretty certain that Keir would see that as a frustration because actually Keir is not focused on what's going on in the Labour Party.
"He's focused on what he would do as prime minister and how he will change the country for the better.”
It comes hours after party chief Starmer, 61, insisted no decision had been made and the matter was for Labour's National Executive Committee.
His handling of the fallout has triggered outrage from Labour's union paymasters who insist Abbott, who was backed by Jeremy Corbyn in the row, be selected.
The spat escalated further when left-wing candidate Faiza Shaheen was blocked from standing against former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith in Chingford and Woodford Green.
Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle was also struck off over "serious" allegations, which he denies.
Asked if the double de-selection was a purge on left-wing candidates, Rayner told The Guardian: “I don’t think it’s a purge.
"I don’t know the details of the individual cases but I do know that we put a robust system in place around vetting and dealing with serious allegations that are made in the party."
Last night, Ms Abbott said she was intent on standing "by any means possible", raising the prospect of her running for the seat as an independent like ex-leader Corbyn, 71.
Earlier today, on our brilliant election countdown, our politics experts said "ruthless" Sir Keir had orchestrated a "purge".
Political Correspondent Noa Hoffman said: "I did not expect the purge to extend this far.
"I thought they would have a dignified exit, rightly so, for Diane Abbott.
"I did not expect them to go all-out with anyone who is remotely critical of Starmer.
"I was surprised with how far they've gone... I think Labour will have made a calculation that this will pay off for them.
"Get it done early and reap the rewards down the line."
Ms Abbott was suspended last year for claiming Jewish people do not experience racism like black people, likening their plight to ginger-haired folk.
In a surprise move, she was readmitted this week to the party.
But after speculation about her future, Ms Abbott told the BBC: "Although the whip has been restored, I'm banned from standing as a Labour candidate."
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It sparked accusations of a grubby stitch-up, with Ms Abbott reportedly expected to step back having been given back the Labour whip on Tuesday night.
Yet Sir Keir said later: "No decision has been taken.
"The process that we were going through ended with the restoration of the whip the other day.
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So she's a member of the Parliamentary Labour Party and no decision has been taken."
A key NEC vote next week is still expected to kick her off the candidates' list.
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